Mother
by jennedy
Summary: “Bo,” she whispers, running a trembling hand down his knife-scarred muzzle. His angry black eyes stare into her iron grey ones, soaking in her misery. “They’re slaughtering us.” Set during the battle for manhattan, PJO#5. please review


**Author's Note: I had this idea hibernating in my brain… Just had to get it out! Sorry in advance for Athena-bashing. This takes place during the battle for Manhattan in TLO. Reviews are greatly appreciated, and I am not above sulking if I do not receive them. While you're reading my work, I'd also be very happy and inclined to give you a shout out in my next update if you would read and review my other stories: Thoughts on Sacrifice (Inheritance Cycle), The Last Stand (Inheritance Cycle), and Echo Locator (Maximum Ride). Thanks for reading.**

**~Jennedy~**

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Her Lord Kronos is failing. For all his grand speeches, his army crumbles and falls with cries of pain under the blades of their former friends. Alexa begins to lose hope as soon as the drakon is slain. Blood runs down her arms from the various cuts and nicks, insignificant against her desperate struggle to live through another 60 seconds.

Then she sees him: A snarling black mass being swarmed by a thousand bloodthirsty demigods.

"BOZEK!" she screams, hacking her way through the crowd to press her back against the flank of a hellhound. Alexa slashes at his attackers, cutting down halfbloods that try in vain to take down the burning tower of black-furred muscle. The halfbloods pull back in a momentary retreat, and Alexa collapses against her companion, chest heaving.

"Bo," she whispers, running a trembling hand down his knife-scarred muzzle. His angry black eyes stare into her iron grey ones, soaking in her misery. "They're slaughtering us." The hellhound snorts, shaking his head vigorously and spraying her with droplets of his blood. Bozek is one of the seven generals of Kronos, and his most famous quality is his willingness to fight until he is incapable of twitching a claw. Bozek, though usually cruel and commanding around the younger demigod recruits, has always had a soft spot for Alexa.

The hellhound drills his black gaze into Alexa, letting a snarl curve his lip, a stream of blood dribbling down his 6-inch fangs and splattering against the asphalt as a result. The clear message communicated through this is one that Bozek is practically the living example of: _We are never defeated. Shake off your injuries and fight. _

Alexa draws in a deep breath, letting her eyelids flutter with the motion. She calms. She sees the vision Lord Kronos has painted for her, an obsidian palace where all demigods, monsters, and mutants are welcome. She stands next to her fellow rejects and practically glows with pride, standing under Kronos as a free demigod. Bozek grins as he sees the vision overtake her again and snuffles at her ear. Laughing weakly, Alexa tightens her grip on her sword and moves to fight again.

Something is wrong. The demigods have drawn back at least one hundred feet from the two rebels. Bozek realizes their intentions before Alexa, a deep bellow of rage bursting from him as he clamps his jaws gently around her forearm and drags her away as quickly as his muscled legs can go. But he is too late. Arrows whistle from the ranks of the demigods, arching high before soaring down and burying themselves in the flesh of the fleeing rebels.

With a cry of pain, Alexa falls, three arrows sinking deep into her back. Bozek stumbles and goes down as well, sliding for a good ten feet before he stops moving. Four arrows protrude like victory flags from his left hip, and one has found its way to his neck, and from there into his throat. He coughs, but breathes around the certain death clogging his windpipe.

Alexa knows she does not have the pure strength of her hellhound companion. As he splutters and attempts to pull himself to his paws, she can only lay on the ground like a rag doll while the asphalt soaks up her life's blood.

Bozek's black eyes widen, and his enormous paws scrabble weakly as he pulls himself toward her broken body. Alexa feels tears cascade down her cheeks as the subdued hero strains to get to her. Appearing out of nowhere, tall, broad-shouldered man with a light brown ponytail hurdles over Bozek and slides to a gentle halt. His strong, muscled arms and glowing golden eyes immediately give him away to be another of Kronos's generals named Anicetus. The descendant of Hercules and son of Hecate wraps his toned arms around his comrade as far as they would reach, and proceeded to drag the hellhound off the field of battle. Bozek struggles feebly against Anicetus, gesturing towards Alexa.

Anicetus shakes his head, pity not even crossing his face as he pulls Bozek to safety, leaving Alexa alone. She moans, pain coursing through her body, panic sending agony up and down the shafts of the arrows imbedded in her.

"Bozek…" she croaks, pleading. "Don't leave… don't leave me…" He lets out a coughing bark, but it is far away and echoes painfully in her ears. Alexa's vision blurs, and all she can see is the shins and ankles of halfbloods as their battle finds its way back to her. None of them waste the energy to finish her off, preferring to let her bleed.

Suddenly, a glowing chariot is pulled down from the sky, alighting on the hastily cleared space in front of Alexa's dying body. A tall, beautiful goddess steps down to the asphalt, gray eyes staring unfeeling at Alexa.

"Mother…" Alexa rasps. The goddess stares down, the pressing scent of her daughter's blood not even causing a tremor of emotion. "Help… I'm sorry…"

"You are enlisted in the army of Kronos, vermin. How can you be sorry?" The goddess snarls. Fear and pain send chills down Alexa's spine. Her breath comes shorter and shorter with each second.

"I thought you forgot me… You never acknowledged me, I thought- thought you hated me…"

"I do not see how a daughter of mine can be so foolish. Rationality is my forte, after all." The goddess ignores her plea. Ignores Alexa as she always has.

"I HATE YOU!" she screams, blood pooling quickly around her, pain coming in waves down her chest and back. With her last grain of energy, Alexa heaves her bronze sword at the goddess like a javelin. It bounces easily off the goddesses gleaming armor. Tears blur her vision. Blackness glides over her softly, and Alexa dies with all the hate she has for the mother who left her sitting on her tongue.

Though Alexa was too proud to admit it, she would have done anything to have a mother comfort her as she passed. But this particular goddess does not care for traitors. Alexa's eyes stare blankly ahead, gray as her mother's, bitter in death.

Athena steps onto her chariot, undeterred, and rides away.


End file.
